Public Art

November 27, 2007

Indio-based designer/artist Phillip K. Smith the III is putting the final sandblasting finishes on his magnificent Infinity Column project this week with his team. This work in progress will be located on Dinah Shore Drive, east of Monterey Drive, and is the second Art in Public Places project for TAO in Palm Desert. The Infinity Column is, at its conceptual roots, a simple geometric progression. The form is a triangle at the top, which is the least sided polygon. Moving down the sculpture from the triangular top, the form morphs into a square, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, and so forth until the resultant form at the base is a circle, which is an infinitely sided polygon. Built from 45 layers of powder-coated 4" high ¼" steel, the 15'0" high sculpture will be a landmark in this newly developing part of the desert.

November 23, 2007

Article by Stefanie Frith reprinted from the Desert Sun 11.24.07 regarding the much loved yet much aligned Rainmaker Scultpure in downtown Palm Springs, proving that Public Art needs to be well thought out before commissioned.

Debating the Future of The Rainmaker

That's the question concerning the future of the Rainmaker Fountain in Frances Stevens Park.

Last month, the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission unanimously voted to decommission the fountain because of high maintenance and repair costs.

But on Nov. 7, the City Council decided to take a more detailed look at the costs of repairing and operating it.

Since then, many people have spoken out for and against saving the fountain.

The Palm Springs Sun asked Public Arts Commission Chairman Michael Stern and Friends of Public Art founder David Aiken, representatives of both sides in the debate, to present their arguments. Aiken also served as chairman of the Public Arts Commission when the fountain was bought in 1999.

Here's what both had to say:

MICHAEL STERN:
Recently, the Palm Springs Public Arts Commission unanimously voted to remove the Rainmaker Fountain from Francis Stevens Park. I'd like to clarify the thinking that led to that decision.

First and foremost, the decision was not based on any individual's like or dislike of the fountain. It was purely a fiscal decision, prompted by the exorbitant costs for maintenance and repair. The annual cost paid by the Public Art Fund, for routine, basic maintenance, is approximately $70,000 per year.

The costs do not end there. An additional $35,000 for repairs to seal the leakage in the fountain's bowl and to clean off mineral deposits from the wands was spent last year. Unfortunately, it appears that this work was not fully successful, as there appears to be leakage in the bowl and the wands are again caked with mineral deposits.

Now we are looking at a $75,000 repair (which is only an estimate) to make the fountain operational, something that it has not been for some time. There is absolutely no guarantee that this $75,000 estimate will be the final fix.

At the time of its construction, certain cost-saving measures were implemented that were ultimately detrimental in the long run. Additionally, our hard water and windy conditions were not factored into the design. The interactive nature of the fountain has found some unanticipated participants - namely the local homeless population, who have turned it into a bathing facility (and, with some frequency, a bathroom facility).

Weighing the pros and cons of the fountain, we found that the costs of maintenance and repair have already exceeded the value of the piece. There is no guarantee that its future will be problem-free. We understand that fountains require maintenance, as do all of the works of art in the collection, but the fountain appears to be so fundamentally flawed in its construction that it is likely to be an ongoing burden to the Public Art Fund.

Palm Springs deserves a signature work of public art that is a functioning aesthetic enhancement to our city and the downtown experience. Due to its extremely problematic nature, Rainmaker does not fulfill that goal.

DAVID AIKEN:
The Rainmaker is not just a fountain. It is a major piece of art in a very small but exciting public art collection owned by the city of Palm Springs, and as it is part of the city collection, it has to be maintained.

We want to thank the City Council and David Ready (city manager) for the decision to move forward with the repairs on the Rainmaker. This will lead to the first realistic bids for the maintenance of the fountain.

As most are aware, the numbers for the cost of maintenance have been difficult to swallow. The current maintenance costs are too high - we couldn't agree more - but is decommissioning the only option? No.

We feel that the monies spent to repair Rainmaker will also lower the cost of maintenance. The independent inspector stated that Rainmaker is structurally sound and can be repaired.

The arguments that this money is better spent on police officers and other city needs tend to forget that the monies used by the Arts Commission are collected and can be only used to support art for the city. Friends of Public Art intends to help with the cost of the repairs and to find alternative ways to raise money for the maintenance.

The City Council served the citizens correctly by overriding the Arts Commission's suggestion to decommission. David Morris (artist) and the Arts Commission, which worked with the artist, put the sculpture and fountain before the City Council, Planning Commission, Risk Management and Parks and Rec - all of which voted to approve this piece of art.

Additionally, local community groups and the citizens of Palm Springs were polled to approve this piece of artwork as the gateway project to mark the north entrance of the downtown area of Palm Springs, which indeed happened.

We want to thank those who have shown a great deal of enthusiasm toward saving Rainmaker: local citizens and those out-of-town visitors that have left comments about the fountain. We invite you to view their comments, watch a video and peruse the photos of the fountain at www.friendsofpublicart.org. Thank you.

November 09, 2007

The City of Palm Desert has always been progressive in its Public Art efforts. They have recently announced that they will host the 1st Desert Cities Public Arts Forum in April of 2008 featuring talks and panel sessions on Facing Public Art Challenges and Finding Solutions. Keynote speakers will feature Jessica Cusick, Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Santa Monica and Cliff Garten, a professional public artist from the city of Los Angeles. Visit the Palm Desert website for the forum to keep tabs on the date and watch for the roster of exciting local speakers and participants including the Palm Springs Art Museum, architect Narendra Patel, and Palm Desert Pubic Arts Coordinator Richard Twedt.